Manly Man Beginner Knit Cowl

Mens Knit Cowl

Two good things to know from this blog post:

  1. It’s possible to knit for a man. And it’s possible that he will actually wear it.
  2. My husband must like me because he posed for these pictures.  😉

Disclaimer: This post doesn’t have as many pictures as most of my posts.  This is for two reasons.  One being that I was knitting this during the late night hours with horrible lighting to take pictures, and two being that my husband gave me a whole ONE MINUTE to take pictures of him. 😉

You can find the easy pattern below, but let me just tell you how the photo shoot conversation went:

Me “Can I take some pictures of you in the cowl?”

Him – Suspicious straight faced stare . Followed by forced reluctant pose, and one minute later – DONE.

Wish all my little photo shoots would go that fast! Maybe the whole idea that men are efficient holds some truth. 😉

You might remember from a few posts back that I made a complete beginner knit cowl pattern because my brother had said he wanted to learn to knit.  Well, that project came out super girly and NOT good for my brother to make.  It was time to try again and think of something beginner and manly. This is what I came up with!  If my husband approves, I can pretty much say that nearly any man will approve (I’ve got a picky one on my hands friends)

The nice thing about this cowl is that it’s tall enough to pull over the face.  It might even be useful for some of your crazy motorcycle hubby’s or my dad who rides ATV’s and sometimes wants to cover his face.

I used large needles, so it is a bit airier and pretty stretchy.  It also works up quicker with the larger needles, and for a beginner, I like a bit larger needles.

Mens Knit Cowl Easy Free Pattern

You will need:

US Size 10.5 Knitting Needles

Worsted Weight Yarn  – I used Premier Yarns Downton Abbey -Matthew – In Walnut Brown they kindly sent me a sample a while back

Scissors

Tapestry Needle to weave in ends

Notes:

If you are a total beginner, you need to learn how to “cast on” and do the “knit stitch” for this pattern.  Head over to YouTube and learn how to do these two things, then come on back and make this MANLY MAN (deep voice) cowl.

Cowl Measures: Approximately 10″ wide, 13.5 ” Tall once seamed and finished

Pattern:

Cast on 46 stitches

Row 1 until piece measures approximately 21″ long – Knit each row

(In other words, cast on, and knit every row until you have a long rectangle that is 21 ” long)

Cast off, leaving a long tail. (Right now you have a long rectangular piece)

With your long tail and tapestry needle, whip stitch or seam with your preferred method to connect both ends.  Tie off, weave in ends.

That’s it! I told you it was super easy beginner style.  In all honesty, I wanted to keep this one for myself ( and probably will “borrow” it every now and then ).

Mens Knit Cowl

Let me know if you try it out!

What do you think? Have you knit for the men in your life, and if so what have you made?

Be sure to check out all of my other free knitting patterns. 🙂

 

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15 Comments

  1. Wow, that is looking good on your man! Great job Jessica, and I can’t imagine you getting anything over a minute for the photo. Maybe a bit longer next time, especially since he is so handsome in his manly cowl. Seriously, that is really cool, the color is perfect and it just looks great!

  2. So nice to see something for men! It’s really hard to find reasonable patterns for men – big and tall men especially… I’ve knitted mittens, hats, scarves & socks for my husband, two grown sons and two grandsons- mostly from my mom’s old 1950’s patterns. My husband has always wanted me to knit him a cardigan with a shawl collar. Finally found some yarn he likes so here I am writing my own pattern pretty much as I go. Wish me luck!

    1. I’m so glad you are happy to see something for men! I agree, it’s hard to find reasonable patterns for them. It sounds like you’ve knit quite a bit for your husband! Lucky guy! 🙂 Wow…good for you trying a cardigan, and without a pattern no less. Best of luck to you indeed!

    1. Hi Deanna! That would be really cute for kids. I will add it to my list of requests! Thanks for the idea.

    2. Crochet a chain as wide as you want your scarf to be, plus 1 xtra chain if using single crochet, 2 xtra for double etc… 1st row crochet back across the base chain you made and chain 1, 2, or 3 etc, for your turning chain. If you made 1 or 2 chains then start row 2 in the same chain as your turning chain. If you made more than 2 chains for turning place you next stitch into the next stitch from the row below. This will keep your edges straight. Continue on like this for as long as you need/want your scarf to be. When you’ve got it as long as you want/need fasten off and weave in your ends. Happy crocheting!

  3. I was just thing about making something for my hubby. Thanks for the pattern. Going to get right on it.

  4. Looks great!!! If I wanted to use circular needles would it be the same 10.5 and would I cast on the same amount? Also what if I wanted to do this in the rounds? Thanks for your help.

    1. Yes, you can do it in the round by alternating knit round and purl round. If you want the same look, you should use the same needle size, but I always think it’s usually fine to go up or down one size. 🙂

  5. About how much yarn is needed for this project and you stated you used larger needles, does that mean larger than the 10.5 you suggest in the pattern?

    1. Hi Lee! I made it with one skein of the Downton Abbet yarn that I referred to above. And no, I didn’t use anything larger than what I have listed as the 10.5. Hope this helps!

  6. How many yards of worested weight yarn did you use? I love this I have a good start on my Christmas gifts and I need a quick pattern for a guy. Thanks as always for your oh so easy patterns!

  7. Hi there, I’m new to knitting and thought this would be a great starter project! Did you use medium worsted weight yarn? That’s what I started with and it looks like it will take a long time and a lot of yarn? Should I get a thicker weight yarn? Thanks! 🙂

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